No devotees to be allowed during holy bath of Tarapith idol

Authorities of the famous Kali temple at Tarapith has decided to do away with the age-old practice of allowing devotees to witness the original idol's holy bath at dawn.

The sevait committee of the temple in Birbhum district is scared that 'aguru', 'chandan', 'sindoor' and other items poured or smeared on the idol, a black coloured stone, by the devotees are harming it.

"It is found that the materials poured by the devotees on the deity is causing harm to the prehistoric original idol," Sevait committee's secretary Dhruba Chatterjee said.

In the past, the materials applied on the idol used to be natural but nowadays most of them are synthetic and are damaging the idol.

Besides, other rituals that follow the holy bath also get affected because of the presence of so many devotees inside the temple which is not very spacious, Chatterjee said.

During regular 'darshan' at the temple, the devotees see a 3-feet-tall silver idol with a face, which covers the original idol, a stone believed to depict as the goddess suckling Lord Shiva.

It is getting increasingly difficult to manage the crowd and so it has been decided to stop the practice of allowing visitors during the holy bath, the sources said.